1. A. The Commission for Human Services is authorized and directed to establish the Office of Client Advocacy within the Department and to employ such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and the duties listed in this section. Such personnel may be dismissed only for cause.

   1. 1. The chief administrative officer of the Office of Client Advocacy shall be the Advocate General, who shall be an attorney selected from a list of three names submitted by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. The Advocate General shall be a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and shall have a minimum of three (3) years' experience as an attorney. The compensation of the Advocate General shall be no less than that of the classification of Attorney III as established in the Merit System of Personnel Administration classification and compensation plan, but shall be an unclassified position.

   2. 2. The duties and responsibilities of the Advocate General are as follows:

      1. a. supervise personnel assigned to the Office of Client Advocacy,
      2. b. monitor and review grievance procedures and hearings,

      3. c. establish and maintain a fair, simple and expeditious system for resolution of grievances of:

         1. (1) all children in the custody of the Department of Human Services regarding the substance or application of any written or unwritten policy or rule of the Department or of an agent of the Department or any decision or action by an employee or an agent of the Department, or of any child in the custody of the Department,
         2. (2) foster parents relating to the provision of foster care services pursuant to this section and Section 7204.1 of this title, and
         3. (3) all persons receiving services from the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Department of Human Services,

      4. d. investigate allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation, as those terms are defined in the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act, by a caretaker of children, regardless of custody:

         1. (1) residing outside their own homes other than children in foster care,
         2. (2) in a day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of this title, and submit a report of the results of the investigation to the appropriate district attorney and to the State Department of Health,
         3. (3) receiving services from a community services worker as that term is defined in Section 1025.1 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and
         4. (4) residing in a state institution listed in Section 1406 of this title,
      5. e. establish a system for investigating allegations of caretaker misconduct not rising to the level of abuse, neglect, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation with regard to any child or resident listed in subparagraph d of this paragraph,
      6. f. coordinate any hearings or meetings of Departmental administrative review committees conducted as a result of unresolved grievances or as a result of investigations,
      7. g. make recommendations to the Director, and provide regular or special reports regarding grievance procedures, hearings and investigations to the Director, the Commission, the Office of Juvenile System Oversight and other appropriate persons as necessary,
      8. h. forward to the Office of Juvenile Systems Oversight, for the information of the Director of that office, a copy of the final report of any grievance which is not resolved in the favor of the complainant,
      9. i. perform such other duties as required by the Director of the Department or the Commission, and
      10. j. develop policies and procedures as necessary to implement the duties and responsibilities assigned to the Office of Client Advocacy.
2. B. The Office of Client Advocacy shall make a complete written report of their investigations. The investigation report, together with its recommendations, shall be submitted to the appropriate district attorney’s office.

3. C. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act, the reports required by Section 7103 of this title or any other information acquired pursuant to the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act shall be confidential and may be disclosed only as provided in Section 7111 of this title and the Oklahoma Children’s Code.

   1. 1. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act, any violation of the confidentiality requirements of the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act shall, upon conviction, be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six (6) months in jail, by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
   2. 2. Any records or information disclosed as provided by this subsection shall remain confidential. The use of any information shall be limited to the purpose for which disclosure is authorized. Rules promulgated by the Commission for Human Services shall provide for disclosure of relevant information concerning Office of Client Advocacy investigations to persons or entities acting in an official capacity with regard to the subject of the investigation.
   3. 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the Office of Client Advocacy or the Department from disclosing such confidential information as may be necessary to secure appropriate care, treatment or protection of a child alleged to be abused or neglected.

4. D.

   1. 1. The Office of Client Advocacy shall investigate any complaint alleging an employee of the Department or of a child-placing agency has threatened a foster parent with removal of a child from the foster parent, harassed a foster parent, or refused to place a child in a licensed or certified foster home, or disrupted a child placement as retaliation or discrimination towards a foster parent who has:

      1. a. filed a grievance pursuant to Section 7213 of this title,
      2. b. provided information to any state official or Department employee, or
      3. c. testified, assisted, or otherwise participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing against the Department or child-placing agency.
   2. 2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any complaint by a foster parent regarding the result of a criminal, administrative or civil proceeding for a violation of any law, rule or contract provision by that foster parent, or the action taken by the Department or a child-placement agency in conformity with the result of any such proceeding.
   3. 3. The Office of Client Advocacy shall at all times be granted access to any foster home or any child-placing agency which is certified, authorized or funded by the Department.

Laws 1982, HB 1468, c. 312, § 36, emerg. eff. July 1, 1982; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1978, c. 352, § 55, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Renumbered from 10 O.S. § 1403.3 by Laws 1995, HB 1978, c. 352, § 199, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1602, c. 231, § 2 (repealed by Laws 1996, HB 2428, c. 3, § 25, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996); Amended by Laws 1996, HB 2428, c. 3, § 3, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 1882, c. 389, § 7, eff. November 1, 1997 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2000, HB 2452, c. 374, § 25, emerg. eff. July 1, 2000 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1298, c. 415, § 4, emerg. eff. June 5, 2001 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2002, SB 1329, c. 445, § 6, eff. November 1, 2002 (superseded document available).